OIL SPILL SEAFOOD: BP oil spill has left saltwater seafood prices high It was a year ago that the BP oil spill just off the Louisiana Gulf Coast began to impact the seafood industry. The Post South newspaper interviewed a restaurant owner a few days after the spill about the quality and price of bulk saltwater seafood. Immediately, the prices jumped per pound and the supply dipped a bit and remained lower than previously. Today, the owner is no longer in the seafood restaurant business. By Tryve Brackin, Post South, Plaquemine, La.

EARTH DAY CONTENT

Lifestyles

HOME HELP: Weed out the bad - - Weekly Home Help with items on how to get rid of weeds in the garden, how to clean windows without streaks, Comcast's Extreme 105 broadband service and more. By GHNS

KITCHEN MAKEOVER: 7 tips for arranging a small kitchen - If your kitchen is tiny, you know how difficult it can be to keep it organized and functional. As the prime workspace of any home, every inch of kitchen space is very valuable and needs to be taken advantage of. Here are some tips to make the most of your small kitchen workspace. By Linda Merrill, Networx for GateHouse News Service.

EASTER HAM: How to choose an Easter ham - If it’s Easter, ham is likely to be on the table. But how do you choose one? All varieties of ham are either bone-in or boneless. The National Pork Board says bone-in hams are considered more elegant, while boneless is easier to serve. By Kathryn Rem, Springfield, Ill.

WOULD YOU BUY IT? Pillsbury Simply Buttermilk Biscuits -- Find out if the latest dough product from Pillsbury is worth the buy. Kathryn Rem/ State Journal-Register (Ill.)

TRADING POST: Readers share recipes for post-Easter eggs -- It’s not difficult to use up all of those colored Easter eggs. Really, it’s not. “The recipe is 100 years old. I got it from my mother-in-law,” said Terrell, 77. “A lot of people don’t know what pickled eggs are.” (They turn a bright pink color.) Kathryn Rem/ State Journal-Register (Ill.)

RECIPE: Minori Pepperoni Torta -- You cannot eat another pizza, but you’ve still got a hankering for pepperoni. The Italians have an old-time solution to his conundrum. It’s called pepperoni pie, and you needn’t make a crust. This one does its own in an “impossible pie” sort of way. They call it Minori Torta. Jim Hillibish/ Canton (Ohio) Repository

TASTE OF TRAVEL: 'Reigned' in by the King and Prince Resort - All the hype leading to the royal marriage between Kate Middleton and Prince William of Wales is likely to evoke the need for a bit of grandeur in your own life. So if you’re in need of getting the royal treatment, there’s an affordable destination with a five-star golf course and staff that will treat you like crowned royalty — and you’ll be in surroundings fit for a king. It's in St. Simons Island, Ga. By Charlene Peters, Marblehead, Mass.

THE BEER NUT: Brew with a mission - There's nothing better than relaxing with a beer after a long day of work, except maybe drinking a beer that helps those in need. That's the idea behind 50 Back, The Brew of the Brave, where 50 percent of profits will go to various veteran support organizations. By Norman Miller, MetroWest, Mass.

TONSILS: Dr. Gayle Woodson: Does my child need a tonsillectomy? -- Dr. Gayle Woodson, the chair of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Otolaryngology, provides the answers to questions like what are your tonsils and why would one have a tonsillectomy? Dr. Gayle Woodson/ State Journal-Register (Ill.)
* Poll idea: Have you had a tonsillectomy?

LOST IN SUBURBIA: A questionnaire for the exercise-challenged - Tracy fills out a health club questionnaire truthfully. By Tracy Beckerman, GHNS columnist.

KENT BUSH: Ethiopian poor being swallowed by rising tide -- Ethiopia is home to one of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world. But this rising tide isn't lifting all ships. The upper classes grow richer and richer. The poor are being swallowed up by the rising tide. Augusta Gazette (Kan.)

LIBRARY WEEK: National Library Week contest inspires 'edible books' -- The public was invited to create books or book-related items out of anything edible and bring them to the college library April 12, during National Library Week. Kathryn Rem/ State Journal-Register (Ill.)

Entertainment

SUDOKU: Sudoku puzzles 1037-1071 (for May) are now available. Previous puzzles are linked to in this file.

5 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND: This week’s suggestions include celebrating Earth Day, Easter, Shakespeare and more. By GHNS.
* Localization tip: List any big Earth Day and Easter happenings, list local theaters that are now performing a Shakespeare play (or soon will be), and swap out any of these items for any other local events.

GET REEL: Celebrating Easter and Passover in film -- In honor of Easter and Passover, which both arrive later this month, we will list seven memorable movies -- one for each day of Passover -- that in some way have something to do with these two religious holy celebrations. Bob Tremblay/ MetroWest Daily News (Mass.)
* Callout idea: What is your favorite Easter or Passover movie?

BOOK REVIEW: 'A Heartbeat Away' by Michael Palmer - What would happen if each member of the political succession were to die? That is the question Michael Palmer posed before delving into writing “A Heartbeat Away.” By Charlene Peters, Marblehead, Mass.

Opinions

GRANLUND CARTOON: Debt ceiling. By Dave Granlund, GHNS cartoonist.

O’MAHONEY CARTOON: Gas crunch. By Joe Mahoney, Patriot Ledger.

EDITORIAL: Rod Blagojevich a different story this time around - A year ago, Rod Blagojevich was, by all outward appearances, riding high. He was joking with David Letterman, sparring with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show,” providing laughs for the women on “The View,” showing America that he did not know how to turn on a laptop computer on “Celebrity Apprentice.” He was, as the Second City comedy troupe so aptly named its musical spoof of his rise and fall, “Rod Blagojevich, Superstar.” By Springfield, Ill.

MICHELLE TEHEUX: What’s our problem? Pick a theory - So our federal debt is now so bad that Standard & Poor’s has actually downgraded us. That made me think about some of the theories of how we got into this fix. By Michelle Teheux, Pekin, Ill.

MAKING CENTS: Get an early start on 2011 taxes - Come around the middle of April every year, millions of taxpayers look at their tax returns and ask themselves what they can do to reduce that burden. Your most effective tax plan would be starting to think about your 2011 taxes right now. By John P. Napolitano, The Patriot Ledger.

Sports

DIAMOND DIRT: Diamond Dirt: Players should boycott baseball's All-Star Game - A note to fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks: Bring your cameras to the games and take a lot of pictures because you may not see your favorite player in the All-Star Game. By Dominic Genetti, Hannibal, Mo.
* Poll idea: Ask readers if they think players should boycott the All-Star Game.

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